Worry
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: War can be VERY unpredictable. IchigoxOrihime! A shadows stirs anew, dark forces gather, waiting for vengeance. Old enemies return, new allies emerge, and the fate of the world rests squarely upon the shoulders of one girl. The child of Ichigo Kurosaki.
1. Surprise!

(Months earlier)

"EH?! YOU'RE PREGNANT!"

--

(Present)

Ichigo was sure he had never been this worried in his entire life.

He paced the room as he had for the past two hours, constantly glancing at the large door at its far end. There was nothing particularly interesting about the room- it was bare except for a row of red cloth-seated chairs lining each wall, though someone had tried to spruce it up by putting an oversized potted plant in a corner.

Absentmindedly, he though the thing looked ugly.

He bit his lip anxiously, his face creased into a dark scowl, his left hand running through his hair, at random intervals, Zangetsu at the far end of the room, his attire ragged and torn, as a result of coming here, directly from the battlefield.

Why didn't she listen?!

He TOLD her not to go out into the battlefield, but did she listen, _no!_

He should be inside the room beyond those double-doors, helping with the procedure she was undergoing. Though it hadn't been his intention, it was the result of his own actions that had led to this, and, thus, his responsibility.

However, Unohana had insisted he not enter, and he knew, even if he didn't want to admit it, that she was right. He was in no condition to oversee such a delicate operation, where his own concern would interfere with his performance. With an exhausted sigh, the man sank into one of the tacky chairs.

Still, he had _never _expected this to happen, and looking back on it, he hadn't expected a lot of things in this stupid war...

"Any news?"

The strawberry blond looked up at the sound of a voice, knocked out of his reverie.

He shook his head at the speaker.

"No, nothing yet, Rukia," answered the newly crowned captain, smiling weakly at his longtime friend. The girl dropped onto a chair next to him, laying an arm on his sagging shoulder.

The droopy-eyed captain glanced at her.

"You're not still doing the whole guilt-trip, are you?" asked Rukia, giving him superior a quizzical look.

His response was instantaneous.

"But it is! If I hadn't gone out, she never would have followed me and-

She rolled her eyes, preparing to rebuke him, but was interrupted by the sound of a pair of double-doors opening.

Ichigo leapt to his feet, a pleading look in his eyes. "Is sh-she…?"

The captain of the 4th Division smiled at him.

"She's a bit tired, but she's perfectly fine. I take it you'd like to see her?"

"Hai!" agreed the vizard, nodding in relief. The teen rushed through the door as the captain stood aside. Rukia made to follow, but stopped when Unohana laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I think they would appreciate a little time alone, don't you?" she asked, giving the other shinigami a pleasant-yet-terrifying grin. Rukia gulped, nodding mutely.

"Ah, Kurosaki-san, we- eek!" The nurse made a startled squeak when the captain sped past her, almost knocking the unfortunate woman off her feet.

Ichigo, however, was far too focused on his goal to notice the near-collision.

There were several beds in the room, separated from each other by pale blue curtains, but only one interested him. He skidded to a stop next to his target, grabbing the end to keep from falling over, a rather humorous sight, if not for the seriousness.

Isane smiled tiredly at him as he hurried to her bedside, but her expression quickly changed to one of surprise when he threw his arms around her, holding her tight.

"Now now, it's not your fault, it's not your fault," she admonished gently, her long orange hair wet with sweat.

He met her gaze, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"Inoue, Don't you _ever _scare me like that again."

"Gomen, Kurosaki-kun."

"I mean it. If the other captain's weren't nearby-

She blushed, then nodded, before planting a gentle kiss on her lips.

They broke apart a moment later, and her smile returned. "See? We're both fine," she stated, turning her gaze to the bundle she held in her other arm.

His mouth opened in a silent 0, then he gave a small smile of his own as he stroked the bundle's head gently. She tilted her head to the side, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"What do you think we should call her?" she asked as a tiny hand clutched his index finger.

The 5th division captain was at a loss for words, so of course, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"Beats the hell outta me."

An admonishing look from his wife quelled his bad mouth.

"Kurosaki-kun!"

Blanching, he held his tongue, then his brow creased in thought.

"How about... Sora?

The little girl gave a small cry at that, as if to say yes.

The new parents smiled, Orihime speaking next, as the baby opened its eyes, revealing them to be truly an odd color, not grey, not brown, but a startling, bright yellow.

"Hi Sora-chan, I'm your mommy-

She looked to her husband now, who had gotten on his knees, his head resting against hers, whilst his daughter still held his finger in a vice-like grip.

-And that's your daddy."

The babby giggled as the two parents cooed at her, one of the few good things that had come of this battle with Aizen and his arrancar.

That's the funny thing about war.

You never really know what to expect...


	2. The New Generation

**I've gotten so many Pm's on this fic, that I've decided to make it a multi-chap! Enjoy this flashback scene. And yes, some changes have been made! This fic will also focus on the life of Ichigo and Orihime's daughter, Sora! Next chapter will take place ten years later!**

Orihime yawned as she leaned back from her laptop, while stretching her arms above her head before bringing them back down to rub her expanding belly. She looked at the clock. Seven after five. He should be home soon. Saving the word document that contained her latest book she pulled herself up to find something to munch on in the kitchen. She wasn't making dinner tonight. Since she was four months pregnant, Ichigo had decided to pick something up for dinner on his way home.

While munching on a carrot and some ketchup she thought about the book that she was working on. It was turning out to be her best book yet. She decided that was because this was the first one that she had an audience for while she was writing it. One kick meant it was good, two kicks meant it wasn't good.

She had just finished her carrot when she heard the front door open and close. "I'm home," his voice rang out in their apartment.

"Welcome home!" she chirped as she noticed his unruly mane of spiky hair, then . "How was your day?"

"Better now," Ichigo said, taking her in his arms. Orihime snuggled up against the muscular chest of her boyfriend. She sighed contentedly as she thought of how lucky she wasto have Ichigo in her life, and all it had taken was a simple admission of her feelings to him. "What are you thinking about?" Ichigo asked her, noting the spacy look on her face.

"I was just thinking about how lucky I am." She sighed.

"Really? Didn't know I was a good luck charm-Ow." He whined as Orihime playfully hit the vizard on the shoulder. She jerked a second later when she felt a particularly strong kick from the baby. "Are you alright?" Ichigo asked her, the concern obvious in his voice.

"I'm fine," She winced." "The baby kicked a little harder than normal."

Ichigo smiled, and placed the bag with the takeout that he was carrying on the table. With his hands free he scooped her into his arms and carried her to the couch, where he laid her down and sat by her side, his head resting against her belly. They sat like that for a moment, Orihime stroking his hair that was only a few shades brighter than her own, and Ichigo listening to the sounds of their child moving in her womb.

"I'm surprised you can still lift me," Orihime joked. "I'm so heavy lately."

"Don't worry, you're not as heavy as I thought you'd be."

Orihime couldn't hold in her laughter, not only at the reference to what he had said years ago, but also as Ichigo instinctively shifting his legs so that they were guarding his lower area. He looked up at her after he realized what he had done and smirked. "Hey, even a powerful shinigami like me can be seriously injured down there."

Orihime went back to strocking his hair, wondering whether their child would inherit it's father's hair. Though if it didn't, it wasn't like it would make all that much difference if the child inherited _her_ hair color. The funny thing was that while people looked at Ichigo's hair and thought he was a no-good punk, they looked at her hair and thought it was hot. Or at least that was what she had been told. She never really thought of herself that way-

"Orihime." He mumbled.

"Hmmm…?" She turned to look towards him.

"I need to ask you something."

"Umm...okay?" It came out as a question, for she suddenly felt nervous.

He moved from where he sat, and got down on one knee.

A small box was fished out of his pocket.

Her heart told her what he was about to do, but her mind refused to believe it.

He squeezed her hand lightly before continuing, and the other opened the box to reveal a ring.

"Inoue, will you marry me?"

--

"It's been two years since then." He continued, referring to the climatic battle with Aizen and the espada. At the heat of the conflict, It'd taken Yoruichi, Urahara, himself, and all the visored, just to bring Sousuke down. But they had done it. The traitorous captain had been driven back to Las Noches, his forces decimated, his espada slain, his zanpaktou taken, and his powers weakened to a mere shadow of their former selves-

The soft sound of snoring drew his attention to the little bundle of warmth in his arms. The child in his arms was fast asleep, her oddly colored eyes shut tightly against the dim lighting of the lamp, the lighting playing across her face...

For a moment, he thought he saw something there.

_'A mask...._

He blinked, then looked down, a smile playing across the face that had once been set in a permanent scowl. No way, it must be the lights playing tricks on him. There was no possible way that she had a inner hollow.

"Sora," He chuckled, ruffling the tufts of orange hair that had just begun to grow this year. The infant stirred, nestling her face further into her father's chest, moistening the white tee slightly with her breath. "You can't fall asleep in the middle of the the story." He chastised her, rising from the rocking chair, then crossing the room to where her cradle lay.

Gently, he placed her within its soft confines, and tucked her in. A soft kiss upon her cheek, then he decided to use shunpo to get across the room, rather than risk the creaking of the floorboards.

Ever since the end of the war, he'd been looking for excuses to slack off. He wasn't too fond of his position, but understood the power gap which needed to be filled. He hadn't done much work anyways, leaving it to Hinamori, who practically did all the paperwork and such, when he'd been given a leave of abscence, along with Orihime, in order to raise their daughter.

Even now he wouldn't do paperwork.

"Is she asleep?" Whispered a female voice, drawing his attention away from the nostalgic moments. He knew who it was without even looking. But before he could turn to greet his wife Orihime, placed a soft kiss upon his lips, sucking all protests of keeping quiet, right out of him. His hand placed itself on the back of her head, drawing her deeper into the kiss, which seemed to last for an eternity before he finally broke it.

"Yeah," He breathed, wrapping an arm around her waist upon pulling away. Her head rested against his neck for a moment, then she squirmed out of his hold, crossing the room with a slow and deliberate, yet soft stride.

"Night, Sora-chan." The mother whispered, then tiptoed across the room, joining her husband back at the door. She remained where she was for a moment, then kissed him softly upon the cheek.

"Don't stay up too late, Ichigo-kun."

With that, she headed to the bedroom, leaving him alone with their only child.

He lingered in the room for a moment, hand on the light switch, gazing at he. In the corner of her room, a chappy night light, Rukia's gift at their baby shower, cast a warm soft glow on the child, her head resting softly on a pillow made of fine silk, as was her blanket. He watched her intent

That had been a gift from Byakuya. No matter how many time you used it, the pillow would always be cool when it was hot outside, and warm when it was cold. Perfect for sleeping with.

Various other gifts had included a hollow sensor, from Ukitake, a safety measure in case any unwanted guests should stop by, a shapeshifting box from Mayuri, which transformed into whatever toy you wanted, to an extent of course. Other gifts were scattered about the room, gifts from all the shinigami they knew, some they didn't, and all their friends.

"Sleep well."

He closed the door, placed a binding spell around the room, then the entire house just in case. The protective organge glow surrounded their abode, sealing it off from even those with the highest of spiritual pressure.

He looked to the window by chance-

And saw a familair face.

Green eyes stared out at him, and he saw the remnants of a broken helmet on the man's face, seen even through the cowl he wore. The air caught in his throat, but when he blinked...

There was no one there.

The figure watching from the shadows frowned as he stepped back into view.

"That was close."


	3. Frigid Fury! Hyourinmaru!

Off off _off_!

She wanted it off!

"Get it offa me!" Sora wailed, seizing the mask before it could fully form on her face. The human skull covering had blue strips in place of red, but a frantic look could be seen. Though it covered half her visage, both panicky eyes could clearly be seen beneath it, the sclera darkened to pitch black. "GET IT OFF!"

As the struggled continued, the ground beneath her bare feet began to tremble and crack, splitting into wide fissures as she thrashed about wildly. Her aura, a whitish red, which was alike that of Ichigo's inner hollow, flared to a blinding brilliance!

"Calm down!" Bellowed a young man with silvery grey hair, his coal black eyes narrowing into slits! His shiakusho flapped about in the wind, torn and ragged about the arms and neck, revealing burn marks here and there, as a result from their battle. "The hollow is a part of you now, and you need to accept that if you want to train with us!"

"I can't Kensei-sensei! It hurts!"

"Accept it!"

"NEVER!"

"Enough! Can't you see she's hurt?!" Snapped a female voice!

Her scream echoed through the air, as a hand ripped _it_ off _her _face. Long orange hair, note quite bright as Ichigo's, yet a shade darker than that of her mother's, played over the face of the pre-teen, sticking to her forehead, and displaying the hairpins her mother had given her to wear for her tenth birthday.

The black tint in her eyes faded, and almost immediately, poor Sora curled up into a ball.

"Y-Yadomaru-Sensei, Y-You took it off Sora-chan?!" A boy with redish black hair gasped, blinking his eyes to reveal that that tattoos which ran down his face, also came over his eyelids as well. A long strand of hair, accompanying the hairtstyle look he had that mirrored that of his uncle, Byakuya Kuchiki, ran between his eyes, to complete what should have been a cool look. "I thought that thing was stuck on your face once it started to form!"

"Shut up Kurai-teme!" Sora snapped, unceremoniously tossing a nearby pebble at his face!"It's not like you could do any better!" The child of Renji and Rukia went silent, blood dripping down his forehead as the missile struck true, drawing crimson.

His lower lip trembled for a moment, then the tears started to come, spilling out of his violet red eyes. "Wah! Sora-chan!" He cried, rubbing at his face to dry his tears. "You're so mean!"Despite being the son of papa's former rival Renji Abarai, and good friend Rukia Kuchiki, thusly making him the heir to the Kuchiki clan when he had come of age, Kurai Kuchiki was a crybaby, and not really much of a fighter.

A hand dabbed a cloth at his head, and he turned to see who it was.

It was a young girl with stern grey eyes, yet a kindly face and smile. She herself looked more like her mother than anything, but those eyes were most definitely those of her proud father.

"Sh, no need to cry, Kurai-kun." She soothed, bandaging his head lightly.

"R-Ruiryo-san...He sniffled. "A-Arigatou...

The daughter of Byakuya Kuchiki and Retsu Unohana smiled softly, her work finished.

"There. That should stop the bleeding."

"I'm sorry, this is the best we can do for you kids." Lisa Yadomaru apologized suddenly, scratching the back of Sora's head kindly as she was tended to as well. "But until you've learned to co-exist with your inner hollow, as well as the name of your zanpaktou's, you won't be able to go any further today, or even at all."

A hand reached up to pull away the rest of mask on her face. Dull yellow eyes were revealed, and she now stared at the human skull half mask, disspassionately. "I hate it. Pappa can't _ever_ find out about this" **(The mask is of Ichigo's second transformation.)**

The boy next to her blinked in surprise, sea foam green eyes reflecting confusion.

"Sora-chan, that was _stable_. Why did you-

"I'm a monster." Insisted the strawberry blond girl, running a hand over her face, as if to make sure the mask was still gone. "What good is it if I can remove this mask, when I have this...this _thing_ inside of me?"

She shivered, and hugged herself tightly.

"I'm a freak! Nothing but a monster!"

A hand clasped her shoulder, "It's only a monster if you let in control you, Sora." and her gaze turned back to the boy with the zanpaktou at his hip. White hair splayed out behind his shoulders, something unnatural for most boys his age. He wasn't short, and was actually an inch or so taller than her, not to mention the only one in a highschool uniform.

"That doesn't change anything! I'm still-

"Now now, what would your father think of you if you said that?"

A regrettful sigh.

"Papa would say stop crying and go kick the ass of the one who made you cry?" She ventured with a small hiccup.

"That's better." Shun, the son of Toshirou and Hinamori grinned, the smile playing across his face and seeming to light up the air around him. His hand touched at her forehead, drawing a light pink blush to her cheeks. "But I don't really think you can kick _yourself_ in the butt, now can you?"

"Urusai!" She shrieked angrily, slapping his hand away! "I'll kick your butt instead!" but he nimbly sidestepped the follow up punch that was supposed to hit him in the face. When she tried to kick out his legs, the shinigami jumped over it.

_'Talk about PMsing..._

Finally, he seized her left leg when she tried to kick him in the face, the chain of his blade whipping itself around her arm before she could make the movements neccesarry for kido.

He twisted her round, and forced her to hop backwards on one leg, whilst his free arm encircled her neck to hold her in place. "Attacking me won't change a thing- It was then that he noticed the shining of her hairpins, and wisely released her, dumping her unceremoniously on her butt before the buzzing sound could grow into a deadly hiss, meaning she was about to sic Tsubaki on him.

Though she couldn't commune with her hollow like he did, Sora was _very_ adept in the basic soul reaper arts. Not to mention the Shun Shun Rika ability passed down to her from her mother was just plain nasty to deal with, due to her often violent tendencies.

"We were _born_ with this power for a reason, remember? Its our birthright, as much as my father's power is mine." He paused to look over his father's zanpaktou, then saw Kurai and the others to the far left, who were practicing walking on air with Love and Rose.

They were getting the hang of it.

"There has to be a reason for it, right?" He looked down at his hand, and clenched int into a fist. "Why else would all of us get these abilities, huh?" This incident had been the reason to bring the children here for some time now. For some reason, around the age of eleven, most of them had begun to develop hollow like abilities or characteristics, though only Kurai had to deal with the saddistic voice in his head.

"But you can put your mask on and take it off easy!" She protested. "None of us can do that!" She bit off the rest of her sentence, which was something along the lines of not _wanting_ to do it.

"But its only because I awakened early." He mumbled, and Sora knew then not to press him for any more answers. Whenever this 'awakening' was mentioned, Shun fell deathly silent, and would not speak of anything else. "When you accept your other half, you'll see what I mean."

"I don't wanna accept her." Protested Sora.

"Sora no baka." He chided her. "How do you think your dad got all those scars? By not accepting his true self? He lived to get those scars, and survived them, because of it."

--

"Papa?"

"Hmm?" Ichigo paused from his hundreth pushup, blinked the sweat away from his eyes and gave Sora his full attention. Gone was the battle hardened hero of long ago, and in his place was Ichigo Kurosaki, concerned and (slightly) overprotective father. He noticed that she was wearing her flannel bunny pajamas, something she still hadn't grown out of quite yet. "Can't sleep?"

"Kinda." She sighed, plopping down before him.

"Alright, what's on your mind kiddo? He sat in a crossed leg position before her.

"Can I use Zan?"

Ichigo winced, eyes darting to the corner of the basement, where his zanpaktou lay. A blue aura now shimmered about the giant cleaver, and it was more than clear that it was displeased-

_Its Zangetsu. _Rumbled the spirit of his blade, appearing before her in a flash of light! _I will not tolerate nicknames._

"Eep!" Sora squeaked, hiding behind Ichigo's back, pointing a trembling finger at the glasses wearing specter. "He can talk! You didn't tell me your sword could actually talk!"

Zangetsu shot Ichigo a reproachful glare.

"This is the one you want me to train?"

--

(One year later)

Somehow, they had been born with these powers, and though they could not control them, at Shun's behest, the children did know enough to at least make Shinji and the others visoreds their senseis. The entire matter was hush-hush, and probably the only other adult who knew about this, aside from the original visoreds themselves, was likely Urahara-san and Lady Yoruichi, both of whom had promised them they'd be quiet.

The nickname of hat n' clogs hadn't really stuck with this generation.

Shinji restrained a smile as he watched the children spar, trying to do their best in the one hour a week they had here. Any longer than that, and the parents would get suspicious.

It was a pact made amongst friends, that no one would speak a word to their parents, and that they'd keep this secret to their graves. Shun was the leader of their little group, which Shinji had thusly dubbed the vizard generation.

But Shinji hadn't told them about Aizenm not yet.

If Sosuke, who had to be up to something, for he wasn't one to lay down after a defeat like that, knew someone was onto him, he'd come back. He suspected he already knew, just wasn't making it overt quite yet.

Standing up, he sheathed Hyourinmaru, and helped Sora rise as well.

"Not bad, I actually had to work for it that time."

Sora grinned fiercely.

"Just you wait! Once I get shikai, I'll kick your ass!"

_You mean I'll kick his ass! _Her hollow spat at her, still uncontrolled after all this time.

_'Shaddap!'_

Shun restrained a smile, as his father had taught him to do. He dusted himself off, then assumed his soul reaper form, so he wouldn't be seen by a normal human. "I'm sure you would. Now, I'm going to get a breath of fresh air. Care to join me?"

A small smile was seen.

"Yeah... I'd like that."

They'd sat outside for some time before, and talked about things. It'd been iddle chit-chat what the other had been doing, how many hollows they'd seen, which had been piteously few, and other unimportant matters. But now, the two turned to more serious matters.

"Hey...

"Hmm?" She turned to glance at him, and he noticed something.

She'd matured, just a bit.

Her hair had grown a little longer, her face had lost more of its baby fat, and she seemed to have maybe grown an inch. Right now, he had to admit, she looked kinda cute, but with time, maybe even a year...

Sora did not miss his stare, but was too embarassed to say anything.

"There's a dance next week."

Her heart skipped a beat, and yanked her from her daydream.

Technically, the children of the gotei 13 were allowed to come and go to the real world as they pleased. With Aizen defeated, and the number of hollow's drastically reduced, some of the captain's kids actually came to Karakura for a basic education.

Shun was one such case.

"Nani?"

"You going with anyone-

He left the sentence in the air...

And that was as far as he got.

A beeping sound alerted them, and Shun sighed as he reached into his pocket.

"A hollow!"

Almost immediately, he drew the zanpaktou that had been passed down to him.

"Finally, some action!"

"Action?" A voice behind them chuckled, and the sound of a static blur accompanied it, when they both paled. "More like a slaughter!" Shun hadn't even finished his spin before a boot slammed into his face, throwing him down into the building upon which they sat.

"Shun!" She screamed!

Sora was alone. Behind her was a figure that she instantly recognized, but had only seen in nightmares until now. She'd heard countless stories about this man at bedtime, but she thought he'd been a work of fiction not-

"G-Grimmjow J-Jaggerjack...she whispered.

Blue eyes smirked down at her.

"Heh, so you must be Kurosaki's cub. Figured he told ya about me-

He pointed to the red line down his chest.

"He tell ya how I got this?"

Sora nodded, unable to breathe.

Run away! She had to run away!

"Looks like yer too scared to move-

A blast of ice suddenly engulfed his arm.

"Get...away." Snarled Shun, standing on the opposite edge of the building. He bled from a forehead wound, and his left arm hung loose, but his eyes glinted with untold fury. "Get away from Sora!"

"Still alive, huh?" Smirked Grimmjow, an amused smirk playing across his features. He now shattered the ice, simply by waving his hand to the side. "Aizen wasn't kidding. You kids're pretty damn tough to deal with." However, a look of interest permeated his being at this moment, and if Grimmjow was interested in _you_, then _you_ were better off dead than alive "Maybe I should fight you with your bankai instead."

If Shun was surprised, he didn't show it.

"Step away from her."

Grimmjow now smirked and looked down at Sora, who quivered in fear. Reaching down, he picked her up by the collar, and she gave no attempts to resist, so stricken was she by pure terror.

"Do it, shinigami! Show me your bankai right now or I'll punch her full a holes!"

"Gladly!" He all but snarled! "Drop her so I can skewer you!"

Sora was unceremoniously tossed to the tiled roof, and thus felt the temperature drop.

"Bankai!"


	4. A Mother's Wrath

Mayuri Kurotsuchi was positively _elated_. Even as the Seiretei ran about like incompetent buffoons, he remained at ease, relaxed, and perfectly, entirely calm, focused only on his latest discovery.

"The senkaimon is down!"

"Two arrancar detected!"

Alarms and klaxons went off en massed, drowning out the constant chatter of shinigami struggling to mobilize themselves for battle. Throughout this chaos, the captain of squad twelve tittered softly to himself, lightly amused by how unprepared they'd been for this.

The senkaimon breaking down hadn't been much of a help either. Now, in all likelihood, they'd have a a funerl for a dead captain and a lieutenant by the end of the day, rather than the planned celebration and festivities.

The red warning lights painted his already eerie face a sinister red as he stepped through the two steel doors, the barrier closing behind him, shutting out the noise.

He'd read the report, but he had to see it with his own two eyes.

Arrancar.

Two arrancar, two _espada class arrancar_, had just been detected in Karakura town. Needless to say, Soul Society was in an uproar, each squad scrambling to ready itself for battle, after several years of complacency.

Why would two espada appear, just as Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki were transporting the Hogyoku back to its rightful owner no less? The solution to this dilema was quite the obvious one.

The enemy desired the Hogyokou.

His fingers flew over the keyboard, bringing up the trademark viewscreen of the Research Bureau. Data was streaming in at this very moment, countless volumes of information that would be downloaded, catalouged, proccessed and stored for later use, later review.

"Hmm?"

Golden eyes narrowed slightly, his eerie smile fading at the sight that awaited him. Painted fingers danced across the keys, bringing up another camera, this one at a much closer angle than the first.

"Oh my, my, my. This certainly is quite the interesting development."

There, some miles north of the current battle, another garaganta had opened. The oddity of it was, that though a figure could clearly be seen emerging from it, there was absolutely no trace of reaitsu about him, shinigami, hollow, or otherwise.

The figure, for the camera could make out little more than bright red hair and white robes, stood there for a moment, then sped off to the east, leaving a vapor trail in their wake, a black streak that reflected against the moon and was then gone. Within moments, the camera's had lost track of them.

When all the data on this new phenomenon had been captured, the scientists rose from his chair, absentmindedly finger the hilt of _Ashisogi Jizo _as he departed from his lab_._

"Sir?" He didn't even have to glance to know that Nemu was by his side. Certainly her mind would be filled with questions, questions that he was currently seeking answers to. "Where are we going-

"Quiet, you blithering twit and let me think." He remarked with the usual insult, his gaze fixed straight ahead. The grin returned now, unnerving those who ran past, with various tasks to complete.

Captain Kurotsuchi sympathized with them entirely.

There was work to be done.

--

Ichigo felt the explosion before he sensed the reaitsu.

_'Shun?' _He could sense they boy's wild spiritual pressure flaring, something all too natural, what with him being Toshirou's kid. But... but something else...an all too familair reaitsu eclipsed it. There was a faint tinge about it, not hollow, not shinigami...

"Arrancar." He hissed, forcing his body to move, adrenaline coursing through his veins. If it was an arrancar, then that could only mean...

_Ba-dump._

Erupting out of the shunpo, his feet scraped against the ground, his eyes widening as he skidded to a an abrupt stop. There, raging against a horde of arrancar, in all his madness and might, was Zaraki Kenpachi. Aways behind him, Rukia lay there, lifeless, unmoving, and it tore at his heartstrings to see this.

"_Rukia!" _he yelled, his eyelids squeezing together tightly as he barked at her, as if she'd wake from the puddle of blood the pooled from her chest. Then, as if in response, a small blur shot past..

With a whisper, Kuchiki Rukia vanished. Through a fuzz of sound, he heard someone call out some random _hadou _spell, and his gaze snapped around to see a familair figure with bright pink hair.

Yachiru.

"I got her, Icchi!" He felt her _reiatsu _return, his mouth turning up in a remorseful smile as he painfully rejoiced in the fact that she still clung to life. He slowly opened his eyelids, the remaining tears blurring his vision as he blinked to clear them.

_Behind you!_

He didn't turn, but yanked on his mask, threw his arm out catching the sword, barehanded, ignoring the blood that welled up in his palm. There was a brief gasp of surprise from his attacker, seen in the espada's eyes, for as he turned, the vizard's golden black orbs glared into his junniper green slits with an all too obvious intent.

"Ulquiorra." He growled, surprised, but more angry that not, to see the espada alive and well before him. Gripping the sword tightly, it felt it dig deeper into his flesh "So you're still alive." What could be seen, was a long scar starting at his neck, but the white hakama hid the rest of it. It was the slash he'd given him years ago, the one that supposedly killed him.

"So it would seem." The espada replied coldly. "However, I cannot say the same for your friend." Ichigo snarled then, lashing out with such force that the espada momentarily staggered back then, before he regained his balance.

"Are you certain that was wise?"

"You should be saying that to yourself."

"!!"

_"Getsuga.."_ Ichigo growled, and the _cuarta_ espada stiffened suddenly, but to no avail, the vizard held him fast. Pale eyes widened in fear against the dark light as they at last realized the impending lethality of this attack, "_Tenshou."_

Moments later, the black energy fang leapt from _Zangetsu_, and into Ulquiorra, tearing him away from the vizard, ripping into his skin with blistering force as he was forced to take the block barehanded. There was another swish of shunpo, and Ichigo was there, _Tensa Zangetsu_ raised and ready to rain down another _Kuroi Getsuga_ at his head.

Ulquiorra swung his sword with gusto, batting away the offensive strike. Ichigo lurched back in surprise, trying to ignore the gash blossoming down the length of his shoulder. With a grunt, he spat a cero at the arrancar, who in turn raised a hand and swatted it away..

"You've become weaker, Kurosaki." Ulquiorra pointedly raised a finger from his fist as he said this, a thin smirk tugging at his usually scowling dispassionate visage. "Is it because you've become more human?"

Ichigo spit at him, but that was all he could do. He was dead tired, exhausted and worn out from sparring with Zaraki. He couldn't transform again, not without likely losing his sanity to his hollow half. He couldn't keep his mask on for much longer, and if that _cero_ hit...

_"Koten Zanshun!"_

A bright glare of orange light rushed past, overhead, cutting the _cero_ in half as if it were water, then drilling on through to the one who had summoned it. Unable to maintain their trajectory, the severed blast fell to the wayside, sparring the drained Ichigo.

Stunned as he was, Ulquiorra reflexively raised a hand to deflect what he thought would be an otherwise harmless blast. Imagine his surprise when pain erupted in his fist, spurting blood from the wound.

"Impossible!"

"Don't you _dare_...lay a finger on... A voice crossed the battlefield, as a figure stepped into view. "My husband." Ironically enough, she wasn't dressed for battle. Her pink tank top, blue levi's, and white apron certainly bespoke of it.

"I-Inoue!" Ichigo sputtered. "What're you-

"Be quiet, honey." As her healing dome snapped around him, her words sounded sweet enough, but there was a deadly fire in her eyes that warned him to be silent, or some great tragedy might otherwise befall him. "And just leave this to me, mmkay?"

With a sharp tug, she tossed the white apron away where it blew into the ash filled wind and was lost from sight. Parting her hair with a finger, steely, violet grey eyes narrowed, smoldering with barely contained fury.

Inoue Orihime had joined the fray.

"So you think you can interfere, woman?" Ulquiorra spoke disspasionately, but Ichigo had seen his face. He'd been surprised, even shaken by the sudden attack, moreso that it had slit his _cero_, then had enough force to pierce his _hierro_. "What makes you think you can-

"Shut up." Ulquiorra was silenced by another strike, this one shattering the earth where he'd been moments ago, as he reappeared on the rooftop of a nearby motel. "I won't listen to you, not anymore."

With a swirl of wind, she vanished.

Realizing she'd followed him, the espada whirled, but too late he was to stop her wrath.

Her fist slid into his face, and he crumpled away from the blow, lurching back half a step, then another as her heel sank into his chest. A thin slit opened upon his cheek, and it was then that he realized how this woman, how this _human_, had harmed him.

Reaitsu. She'd gathered it at her core, then likewise dispersed it throughout her body, exponetially increasing both her speed and strength. She possesed nearly limitless potential before, and now, it seemed she'd put it excellent use. She was rejecting the boundaries on human strength on speed.

With every strike she grew faster, stronger, she'd even blunted his blade at one point when he'd tried to deflect her strikes. Realizing that close combat would surely fail, the espada propelled himself backwards with a punch of sonido, teal light swirling from his index finger.

She waved her hands, and a thin, orange light engulfed his _cero_, not only erasing it entirely before it could be fired, but effectively repelling a blast of her own, back at him. Stunned, he recognized that she'd not only rejected the event, but reversed it.

In light of this, Ulquiorra took the only option left to him, other than certain doom, which would certainly be his fate if he were to continue the battle as he was now.

_"Bind."_ He declared, thrusting his sword forward. _"Murcielago!"_


End file.
